Page 51 of Forbidden Love

I held her until we remembered there was pizza on the deck, and then we got dressed, her in a pair of soft shirts and a tee, and me in my mostly dry shirt and shorts.

We ate out of the box, not bothering to grab plates or napkins. It was a gorgeous night, the heat cooling as the sun set. We stowed the leftover pizza in the fridge.

“What now?” she asked me.

“We could watch a movie or go to bed early,” I said with a waggle of my eyebrows.

She frowned. “You don’t have the blueprints for the homes you’re considering with you, do you?”

“They’re in the truck.”

“Can I look at them?”

“Of course.” I plucked my keys from the table and grabbed the plans from the backseat of my truck. I spread them on the table in the dining room.

There was something about sharing these with her. I wanted her opinion. I needed her input, and I couldn’t explain why.

CHAPTER 14

KYLIE

I spread the blueprints on the table so I could see each one as I walked around. When I found a two-story house I was interested in, I sat in the chair, my leg curled underneath me, and traced a path with my finger through the house.

Tyler leaned a hip against the table. “What are you doing?”

“I like to imagine that I live there. I’d park in the garage, walk through the door here, into the mudroom, and then into the kitchen.” I traced the path with my finger, returning to the mudroom. “Is this room small, or is it just me?”

He leaned closer to see the specs. “It’s tight.”

“I wonder if it should be enlarged in case you have kids and need more storage space, or could it be a separate room?” I asked him.

“You could do either.”

“I’m not a fan of walking into a house through a mudroom. Most homeowners enter through the garage, not the front door.”

“I agree.”

“And if your guests enter through the garage for some reason, you don’t want them to see your dirty laundry.”

He chuckled. “That’s a good point.”

“If this were my house, I’d create a hallway here with a separate mudroom with a washer and a dryer, cabinets for storage, and a place for shoes and jackets. If you’re into sports, you can even have something here to hold balls and bats.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“Do you enjoy cooking?” Kylie asked me.

“I prefer grilling.”

“I think the kitchen is fine, then. A large gourmet island works for everyone, and there’s enough space to get around everything. Could you do a bump-out and put in a large farmhouse-style table since you enjoy get-togethers?”

Instead of responding, Tyler grabbed a pencil and inputted the change with a note for a farmhouse table. I was a little surprised he was even listening to my opinion. I had no experience with designing or building houses.

“The family room is nice as long as you think there’s enough room. I love a stone fireplace here. Especially with the view of the mountains I’m sure you’ll have. You want the room to be both warm and inviting.” I could see it now, sitting on a large sectional with a blanket thrown over our laps while we sipped hot chocolate and enjoyed the fire. “Is there a way you could sit and enjoy both the fireplace and the view through the windows? The way I was envisioning it, your back would be to the windows but facing the fireplace.”

“If we bumped out the back and put the fireplace on this wall, it could work.”

“Can you do whatever you want with these?” I asked him.

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